


100 Shanix

by Lush_Specimen



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Fluff, Gambling, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 22:24:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13844265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lush_Specimen/pseuds/Lush_Specimen
Summary: Taking place between MTMTE #55 and LL #01, the crew has some down time, leading to extreme sports, silly wagers, and spark to spark conversations.Megatron attempts to corral his crew of wayward autobots but never expected to end up making a wager on the nature of his relationship with Optimus Prime.





	100 Shanix

Megatron’s heavy footfalls echoed through the empty hallways of the Censere’s fortress. After the fight with the DJD, everyone spread out, each to decompress in their own ways. Megatron himself had just spent quite a bit of time talking with Terminus. Now they needed to regroup and plan their next move. He ought to talk to Rodimus, but so far had no luck in locating him.

Rounding a corner, he came across Drift, as he calls himself now, dealing cards to several recently revived Decepticons. 

“Are you gambling?” Megatron folded his arms and frowned.

Despite the shanix obviously piled in the center of their game, “Nope, not us,” Drift replied, nonchalantly checking his cards. The rest of the players froze, optics nervously shifting between Drift and Megatron, not sure if they should play along or make a run for it.

“Good,” Megatron replied, a smirk starting to curl the corner of his mouth, “I’ll send Ratchet over, I hear he loves a good card game.” That got Drift’s attention.

“Oh come on! I gave them money that we’re playing with, so I’ll just be winning back my own cash.” Drift whined. The three other players glanced at each other, surprised by Drift’s sudden confidence.

“Tell me where I can find our captain, and you can finish fleecing your new friends.”

“Oh! No problem! Brainstorm discovered some seismic activity not far from where the Peaceful Tyranny landed. Rodimus went to go lava surfing. You know, to unwind. Normally he’d go meteor surfing, but we can’t get into orbit.” Drift helpfully offered while upping his ante. 

Megatron pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger struggling to remain calm, “Why does a ridiculous answer follow every normal question? What even, you know what,” he sighed, “Nevermind. I’m sure it’s dangerous so why didn’t you go with him?”

The purple triggercon to his right folded, as Drift replied without looking up, “We are close enough to know when we need our space. He likes extreme sports and I play cards, and sometimes you just have to respect each other’s hobbies. At least I made him take a first aid kit. Also, when you see Rodimus, tell him he owes me 100 shanix.” A bot with patchy blue paintwork increased his bet and a predatory grin spread across Drift’s face.

Rumbling his disapproval, Megatron demanded the coordinates and left Drift to continue “not gambling.” Even if he was only half as good a card player as he was when he went by Deadlock, those bots didn’t stand a chance. 

After a quick message to Ultra Magnus letting him know what was going on, Megatron shifted into his alt mode and set off to find Rodimus. Although his tank-like mining machine moved slowly, switching back to his original alt mode from the gun mode he used during the war was part of his on-going effort to set aside the tyrant he’d become.

Of course one can’t simply take a comm device lava surfing, that would be too easy for everyone, Megatron grumbled to himself. Now if someone wants to talk to the captain, they have to drive halfway across creation to personally track him down. 

Cresting the summit of a steep ridge, Megatron saw a red and gold form slowly climbing up the other side. He altered course to head directly to Rodimus, mentally composing a speech about responsibilities and proper planning. However coming closer, he realized Rodimus wouldn’t normally travel this distance in bot mode, unless something was wrong. After all they’d been through, time travel, renegade mnemosurgeons, and the DJD, it would be just like Rodimus to get himself killed doing something stupid. Worry began to nag at the back of his mind as he increased speed.

“Hey, Megs!” Rodimus waved as Megatron approached.

Shifting into bot mode, Megatron rushed to his side, “You are hurt!”

Rodimus limped along, his left leg badly burned and leaking energon from a few hastily welded field repairs, “Yeah, I hadn’t ate it that bad in a long time,” he shrugged. “I might’ve got my start surfing on lava, but it’s been awhile. Normally I’d go meteor surfing, but…”

“Yes, yes, you couldn’t get into orbit,” Megatron interrupted, “Drift told me. Let me see your leg.”

“Thanks, but I already did the best I could with Drift’s first aid kit. Just gotta get back to Ratchet. On second thought, maybe I’ll see Velocity. She’s less likely to tell me off for totally wiping out an epic lava flow. Ratchet’s fixed me so many times, he couldn’t pass up another chance for a health and safety lecture.”

“Have you been walking all this way?” Megatron asked, noticing the long trail of energon that Rodimus had left in his wake. 

“Yeah. I tried to transform, but it hurt too much. You know me, Megs, keep moving forward, and I’ll get there eventually. You can go on ahead. It looks bad, but I’ve definitely had worse.” Rodimus winced and continued slowly limping up the hill.

Megatron shook his head. When did he go from being a universally feared warlord to worrying after a wayward bunch of autobots? No wonder Optimus is always so busy, actually caring about your crew is exhausting, especially when they all seem so determined to cause trouble. Marching up beside Rodimus he reached one large arm across his shoulders.

“Hey! What? Whoa!” Rodimus protested as Megatron carefully placed his other arm behind his knees, lifting him gently without jostling the injured limb. “You don’t have to carry me. I can walk just fine.”

“You’re right,” Megatron agreed, “I definitely don’t have to carry you, but this way is far more efficient. Besides, we really should get back to the others before Drift robs blind anyone gullible enough to play cards with him.”

Rodimus grasped his chest in mock surprise, “Is he gambling again?! That rogue!” A mischievous smile spread across his face, “Now he owes me 100 shanix. I bet him that he couldn’t resist hustling the new recruits.”

Situating Rodimus comfortably in his arms, Megatron began striding up the slope, “Actually, Drift said you owe him.”

“Ugh!” Rodimus dragged his palm down his face, “I hoped he’d forget. Drift bet me that you’d be the first one to come asking after me. So we’re even. No offense, by the way, I thought it’d be Mags.”

“None taken. I wouldn’t bet against Ultra Magnus either.”

With the constant rhythm of his steady pace, Megatron could feel Rodimus relax. Seemingly unable to keep still, he began to absentmindedly swing his uninjured leg in time with Megatron’s steps. 

“Hey, Megs?”

“What now?” Megatron rolled his optics, again with the nickname. He gave up asking Rodimus to drop it in hopes that he would quit using it if Megatron didn’t continue to make it an issue. Apparently one request for Rodimus to please use his full name was enough to become “Megs” forever.  


Settling in snugly against Megatron’s battle scarred chest plate, Rodimus continued, “Thanks for coming to get me, and I really appreciate the lift.” 

“I can out here to talk to you about forming a plan. Before you say anything ‘we’ll just wing it’ does not count as a plan. I didn’t expect to be hauling your mangled chassis all the way back.” 

“Whatever, you still came,” Rodimus paused seemingly searching for the right words. “You know I’ve been through a lot, right. I’ve been hurt and rescued, lost and found, survived all kinds of stuff, especially these last few days. But, I want you to know, that I’ve never felt safer than I do right here, right now, in your arms. And hell, I once hugged Optimus Prime!”

Halting so abruptly he almost fell over, Megatron sputtered, “You can’t be serious! Rodimus, I, I once nearly killed you. I shot you, point blank, and I vividly remember not caring whether you lived or died.” Just when he thought he knew what to expect from their conversations, Rodimus utterly stuns him. 

“I know,” Rodimus nodded, “I was there. But that’s in the past. Back then you were still trying to rule the universe with an iron fist and I just wanted to be Prime, so we’ve both grown a bit. I don’t live for yesterday, Megs. Today is all we have, right now, and I meant everything I said.”

Looking down into Rodimus guileless blue optics, Megatron shook his head and started stomping along again. “You can’t just say something like that and not expect… You know what? Fine! If we are opening our sparks out here, I have something to tell you.”

“Go ahead,” Rodimus winked, “Shoot!”

“I cannot believe you just said that to me right now! You are unbelievable!” exasperated, Megatron could feel Rodimus still smiling at him, but he kept his optics on the terrain ahead. “Instead of just dropping you for that remark, you are going to listen and not interrupt.” 

“When we fought the DJD, I was prepared to die. My plan for killing all of them also meant my own death. Since it would enable the survival of the rest of our crew, I was at oddly peace with that outcome. Then, as I waited for the inevitable dark energy explosion to tear my spark to shreds, you ripped a hole in the fabric of space to offer me your hand. Part of me resolved to stay and die, killed with my own executioners in some sort of poetic justice, but when I looked into your optics in that moment, I knew I had to take a chance, because you did.”

“Me?” Rodimus asked, “What do you mean?”

“No one knew about the brief case transporter. You could have just sat back and let things play out the way I’d planned and no one would know. Hell, you didn’t even know if Brainstorm’s device would even work or you could’ve been killed when you came to get me. You risked so much. No wonder you get on so well with Drift, you’re both gamblers.”

Megatron held Rodimus a little closer, “In all my long life, no one has ever taken such a chance to reach out to me, no ulterior motive, just genuine concern. So thank you, too.”

“It’s nice to know someone else appreciates my greatness,” Rodimus settled back in his arms. They travelled along in a companionable silence until they were nearly back to base.

As stars began to appear in the twilight sky, inspired by his whimsical companion, Megatron decided to roll the dice himself, “Rodimus, one more question. And if you say ‘shoot’ I will drop you on your tailpipes right here and you can hop along the rest of the way back.”

“Okay, fire away!” Rodimus grinned. Megatron groaned, it was easy to forget that Rodimus’ frivolity masked a clever wit.

“What was it like, hugging Optimus?”

“I knew it!” Rodimus exclaimed. “I knew you couldn’t resist asking, that’s why I included that little detail; took longer to get around to it than I thought though. Drift owes me 100 shanix!”

“What!? When did have time to make a bet with Drift about this?”

“I made a mental wager with him as soon as I said it.”

“That’s not how bets work! You can’t just decide what someone else will wager.”

“Me and Drift do it all the time. We always know what the other would bet on. But back to the matter at hand,” Rodimus continued with an energon-eating grin, “I think you need to discover an Optimus hug for yourself. Nothing beats personal experience. I don’t have the proper words to describe it, I’m not the poet after all.”

Megatron blinked at the ridiculous optimism of his captain. Hopelessly lost, stranded on an alien world, the odds of returning to Cybertron stacked against them, and Rodimus still just assumes that everything will work out. 

“What the hell, why not?” Megatron responded, shocking even himself. “Whenever, wherever I see Optimus next, I’ll find out for myself.” 

“Bet you won’t,” Rodimus replied, slyly elbowing him in the chest.

“Excuse me?”

“100 shanix says you won’t do it. You have to hug him the very next time you meet or you lose. This might be the first bet I look forward to losing,” Rodimus giggled. “Since you have your hands full with carrying me around, we don’t even have to shake on it.” Rodimus tapped the side of his head, “We can make a mental wager, like me and Drift. Come on, Megs, whaddya say?” 

With night falling around them, Megatron pondered the absurdity of it all. Realistically, they would never see Optimus ever again, but he learned to expect the unexpected with Rodimus. If he was going to throw his lot in with this unrepentant risk taker in his arms, then why not? It was a chance that he’d always wanted to take anyway. If that time ever comes, he could use Rodimus’ favorite plan and just wing it. Giddy with anticipation, Rodimus waited for his answer.

Laughing, Megatron finally replied, “Ok, Rodimus, I’ll take that bet!” 

Epilogue:  
After losing Megatron in the functionist universe, Rodimus and company return to the prime universe to have many assorted adventures and mishaps. Suddenly a terrible evil, Unicron the destroyer of worlds, arises to threaten all existence in every reality, devouring entire dimensions.

Just when all hope seems lost, a rift opens in time and space, and a band of rebels from the functionist universe rush in like the cavalry to the rescue. In the thick of the action, Rodimus goes to welcome these reinforcements, who have finally turned the tide of the battle towards victory. There at the head of this new army is the functionist universe Optimus Prime arm in arm with their long lost Megatron! Despite the fire and fury of war whirling around them, Rodimus doubles over in laughter as Megatron grins and gleefully shouts across the battlefield, “You owe me 100 shanix!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
